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The Prototype 9 project began with a message from Infiniti’s U.S. marketing team to design chief Alfonso Albaisa. It was based on a discussion point from an internal brand meeting held Stateside, which went something like this: Imagine you are somewhere in the Japan countryside and came across a car, sheltered in a barn, hidden away for decades. Not only is it a race car, but it is also an Infiniti. What would that car look like? Could it be connected to the Infiniti production cars of today? “Our expectation was that Alfonso and his team would just do a sketch for us,” says Infiniti Americas communications director Kyle Bazemore. “Or maybe, at a stretch, a CG video. And perhaps, if we were extremely lucky, a clay model.”
No one, least of all Albaisa, expected it to turn into a real car.
The Prototype 9 evolved into a skunkworks project as Albaisa’s fellow designers at Infiniti’s Atsugi studio in Japan began contributing ideas. Then, when managers at Nissan’s factory in Oppama saw a model of the car, they decided they wanted to turn it into real thing. “I was a little surprised,” Albaisa admits, “but it turns out they still train people in all the traditional car-building arts. They thought this was the perfect project, and they decided—on their own—to follow the design story as if [it were] real.” A team of takumi—Nissan’s master craftspeople—assembled to lead the build. Nissan’s advanced engineering team learned about the project and volunteered to help, as did Nissan’s specialty vehicle division, Autech. “Suddenly we had three of our largest departments working on it,” Albaisa says.
Stunning concept by Infiniti. This seems like one of those "just for fun" concepts, but I think I see hints and inklings of the direction Infiniti wants to go. Design Chief Alfonso Albaisa and Karim Habib are taking Infiniti's design in the right direction. I absolutely love that they had the guts to build a concept like this -- and even timed it for the perfect event - Pebble Beach. This new interpretation of the Infiniti grille and the hood ornament is a very striking combination, I would like to see it in their production cars.
I love that the 3 Japanese luxury brands are reinventing themselves. Of course Lexus started it all with the 2012 GS and they've had a head start in reinvigorating their lineup's design, but Infiniti is not far behind with the new QX50 and QX80 coming out in the next couple of years. I'm also excited to see their next-generation sedan lineup. The Q80 Inspiration sedan was such a sleek and beautiful concept -- I could see Infiniti giving the CLS/A7 a run for their money if they produce it.
Acura is lagging much further behind than the others, but I also like the direction they're going in the last year or so. The introduction of the "Diamond Pentagon" design is a success, IMO, giving the brand much needed life after a full decade of "beak" problems. The next generation of Acura designs built with the Precision concept's design language and Diamond Pentagon will be even more successful. If anything, they just need to bring their interior game up and I have a feeling they will do just that with the next releases. I'm done with expecting Acura to ever release a RWD car -- but they're hustling in their own way.
A complete waste of money and time. Infiniti should be concentrating on future and relevant models that are lagging. This concept will do zero for the brand.
The only words in the original article that stood out for me were: "marketing team" and "brand meeting" who apparently wanted to get some buzz on "re-imagining the past". I call it re-imaging the past. It's another short attention span bit of fluff by people who wouldn't really know much about the history or pedigree of the Germans when it comes to racing.
If you're serious about gaming some credentials from racing you have to show Nissan's racing pedigree rather than trying to chase some mythical past. That belongs to the German big 3.
Audi's Auto Union racer that can be said to be an inspiration for the single frame grill.
The only words in the original article that stood out for me were: "marketing team" and "brand meeting" who apparently wanted to get some buzz on "re-imagining the past". I call it re-imaging the past. It's another short attention span bit of fluff by people who wouldn't really know much about the history or pedigree of the Germans when it comes to racing.
If you're serious about gaming some credentials from racing you have to show Nissan's racing pedigree rather than trying to chase some mythical past. That belongs to the German big 3.
Germans aren't the only ones with racing heritage - lets not forget Italians, French, British and of course Americans. Of course Asians are late to the game, but its a cool concept for what it is.
Germans aren't the only ones with racing heritage - lets not forget Italians, French, British and of course Americans. Of course Asians are late to the game, but its a cool concept for what it is.
Yep. But that's not what I was referring to specifically here. Those manufacturers had different cars from the Germans. They looked different from the Audis and Benzes. And they were different colors: reds, yellows and of course green.
Different designs and shapes. Here you have a sort of "cribbing" of the Mercedes Silver Arrow/Audi Auto Union racer mystique.
08-12-17, 01:50 PM
Infiniti Prototype 9: Vintage-Inspired Race Car Concept at Pebble Beach
